Josh Thomson slams the UFC heavyweight division after Vitor Petrino vs. Serghei Spivac at UFC Sacramento

Vitor Petrino's win over Serghei Spivac has seemingly failed to make an impression on former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson.

"The Punk" sounded off against Petrino, in addition to also insinuating that Spivac and the other current UFC heavyweights don't exactly make for the best division. 

Josh Thomson lambasted the UFC heavyweight division after Vitor Petrino's win over Serghei Spivac at UFC Sacramento

Vitor Petrino is considered by many to be a potential future star in the UFC heavyweight division. Just days away from his 29th birthday, "Icao" extended his win streak to four by defeating Moldova's Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision at UFC Sacramento on August 22. 

Petrino, who boasts a professional MMA record of 15 victories and two defeats, is unbeaten since making his heavyweight divisional debut. 

In a recent edition of the Weighing In podcast, MMA veteran Josh Thomson and Angelo Bodetti addressed various topics, including last Saturday's UFC Sacramento event.

They directed considerable criticism at heavyweights Vitor Petrino and Serghei Spivac, further indicating that they believe the UFC heavyweight division lacks adequate quality fighters even in its upper echelons. 

Thomson stated, "Petrino and Spivac -- Spivac, to me, I think, gave the fight away. Petrino looked exhausted. Spivac was just afraid of the power... Petrino, just -- I don't know -- to me, I'm not high on him. I know people are like, oh, he looks the part, he's this, he's that. I'm not excited about him at all." 

Certain sections of the MMA community slammed Petrino's win over Spivac as a lackluster showing, and Thomson seemingly echoed similar sentiments. Concerning the UFC heavyweight division as a whole, he asserted, "It's horrible. Horrible." 

Watch Josh Thomson address Vitor Petrino vs. Serghei Spivac and the UFC heavyweight division below (*comments at the 33:00-minute mark of the video): 

Vitor Petrino's past UFC defeats are cited by his critics as a harbinger of his potential heavyweight setbacks

Vitor Petrino was on an 11-0 undefeated run in the sport of MMA, competing in all bouts as a light heavyweight, until he suffered a submission loss against former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith. The Brazilian combatant's next fight witnessed him get knocked out by kickboxing veteran and 205-pound staple Dustin Jacoby. Both those defeats transpired in 2024. 

Some skeptics argue that Petrino's back-to-back setbacks at light heavyweight are an indication that he'll eventually come up short at heavyweight as well, particularly against the top-tier fighters in the division. 

The losses sparked his move to the UFC heavyweight division. Petrino's maiden outing in the proverbial division of giants saw him submit Austen Lane, after which he knocked out Thomas Petersen; both last year. The rising star outpointed Steven Asplund earlier this year, followed by his next, and latest fight, which ended with his outpointing Serghei Spivac at UFC Sacramento. 

Presently, Petrino stands at the No. 11 position in the UFC heavyweight division, according to the official Meta UFC rankings. On the other hand, Spivac holds the No. 9 spot. Their respective ranks are expected to change in the next rankings update, given Petrino's win over "Polar Bear." 

As for the UFC heavyweight division -- and critics such as Josh Thomson lamenting the alleged lack of quality fighters in it -- there's an abundance of fans and experts who contrarily believe the division is currently stacked with talent. That is particularly due to the entry of crossover athletes and unbeaten talents, such as Josh Hokit, Gable Steveson, Anthony Wint, and other heavyweight stars-in-the-making.